INTREPID WRITER

Sunday, May 21, 2017

If you still read a Bengali daily, you may have already seen a variation of this image on the first page: Soumitra Chatterjee, the veteran thespian taking Bangabibhusan (a silly award introduced by the Mamata Government) from the chief minister. Given the circumstances when most Bengali intellectuals and artists are gradually gravitating to the powers-that-be, it is apparently another instance of a sellout. But since it involves Soumitra Chatterjee, who is widely respected for his leftist values and cultural views, we can't help raise our eyebrows in shock.